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“Are you sure?” I let go of her arms and take a step toward the counter. In big red letters the words Flight Cancelled scroll and flash across the screen.
“Yes. I’m sure.” She picks up my briefcase and hands it to me. “If you stand in line, they’ll reschedule you for tomorrow.”
I bend over and pick up her backpack from the floor. “Sorry I crashed into you like a car with no brakes.”
She takes the backpack and laughs. “It’s okay. I’ve always been easy to overlook.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
She hugs her backpack to her chest and smiles. “Good luck with your flight.”
A second later she disappears down the concourse.
I spend the next half hour at the ticket counter rescheduling . It turns out I’m not the only tornado running roughshod and claiming random victims. The skies above Kansas, Wyoming, and Colorado are swirling in a menacing fashion.
I leave the counter with a new ticket in hand, a reservation at the airport hotel, and a grumble in my stomach.
The lines for food are as long as the lines at the counter. There seems to be standing room only when I walk into Chili’s. I scour the restaurant for an open seat, and instead I find the beauty I bowled over sitting in the corner. She’s texting someone. Her fingers dance over the screen, and then she waits. She smiles. Texts more. Laughs. With what I hope is more finesse than last time, I approach her.
“Hey.” When I speak, she startles and looks up at me. “I don’t want to interrupt, but I thought since we already kind of know each other, maybe you’d be willing to share your table with me.”
“I wouldn’t call a hit and run a real introduction.” She looks down at her phone when it lights up.
“I don’t want to interrupt anything.” I glance down at the lit screen and wonder if it’s a boyfriend.
She picks it up and flashes the screen in my direction. “It’s my sister.”
My smile grows so wide my cheeks hurt. “I thought maybe it was…” The sentence hung there incomplete.
Her hair moves across her shoulders as she shakes her head. “No, I don’t have one of those.”
I lean on the back of the chair. “Shocking.” I hold out my hand to her. “I’m Hugh. Can I buy you lunch?”
There is a minute of indecision etched into her beautiful face and then her eyes soften. She lays her hand in mine and says, “I’m Katy. You don’t have to buy me lunch, but you can have a seat.”
That turmoil in my gut starts again. It isn’t an unpleasant feeling. More like an adrenaline rush on steroids. The same feeling I get when I sky dive.
“Well, Katy, the least I can do is buy you lunch since I almost killed you on the concourse.”
The light on her screen flashes again. She picks up her phone and shoots off a text. “Sorry, my sister is relentless.”
I take the seat to the side of her so we’re both facing the restaurant. Our legs touch, and a jolt of awareness surges through me. This woman affects me like no other.
“Older or younger sister?” I peel off the paper band from the silverware and unwrap the napkin to place in my lap.
“Older.”
“Protective?”
She laughs. Her eyes squint, and her lips purse as if she tastes the answer. “I wouldn’t say protective. I’d say she’s supportive.”
“That’s amazing. It’s nice to have family.”
“It is nice. By your accent I’ll assume you’re not from here. I’m going to guess England.”
“You have a good ear. I’m originally from London.” I raise my hand to get the waitress’s attention. “Can I get you a beer or a glass of wine?”
“Wine would be great.”
